Oats n' Honey Granola Pie

I made this pie for my friend Mitch's birthday a few weeks ago.

Mitch is not exactly what you would call a sweets lover.

He will eat the occasional dessert, but he's really more of a main course kinda guy. He loves his food hot and spicy, and well, I'm so not a hot and spicy person. Coming up with a dessert that he will enjoy isn't easy, but he does love this pie.

If you like granola and if you like pecan pie and if you like sticky, sweet and chocolaty goodness, then you will love this pie.

I've been making this pie for the last 7 years. It was the winner of the 2004 Pillsbury Bake Off.

You can serve this at room temperature or warm it up and top it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. We went "naked" and just gobbled it up plain this time.


I like to use pecans in this recipe, but feel free to use walnuts if you prefer.

Oats n’ Honey Granola Pie
1 pie crust, softened (yup I used Pillsbury and I'm not ashamed to admit it)
1/2vcup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 Nature Valley Oats ‘n Honey crunchy granola bars (2 pouches from 8.9oz box), crushed (about ¾ a cup)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup quick cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Oven to 350. Please the pie crust in a 9 inch glass pie pan.

In a large microwavable bowl, microwave the butter on high 50 – 60 seconds or until melted. Stir in the brown sugar and corn syrup until blended. Beat in the salt, vanilla and eggs. Stir in the crushed granola bars, walnuts, oats and chocolate chips into the mixture. Pour into pie plate.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until filling is set and crust is golden brown. During the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, check to see that the crusts isn’t browning too quickly. If it is, cover it with a pie saver or some foil. Cool at least 30 mins before eating. Serve warm or room temperature. Can be served with whipped topping or ice cream. Store in fridge.

Wordless Wednesday~ Watson Farm Window

Catch up.

Let’s play a little catch up.

Moose

I’m still getting inquiries about how my sweet baby Moose is doing.

Update: He’s doing so, so much better. Everyday we see improvement. He’s walking so much better; in fact, he’s actually walking up and down the stairs now.

He’s perky, he’s eating and drinking like a dog that weighs 3 times his size (steroids will do that to ya). So the road to recovery is going well. We go back to Tufts in 2 weeks for another EKG. Fingers crossed.

My kids.

I love my two boys so much.

They are such great kids.

Evan is growing taller and taller each month.

He is quite proud of the fact that he towers over me. A feat which Papa says is not much of an accomplishment since I'm only 5 feet tall.

I was meaning to write about this but I never got around to it. The whole month of July was a bit of a blur for me. The night I came home from Tufts, without Moose, was really tough for me. I was on the couch sobbing in a puddle of tears and Evan came over and sat beside me and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said “Mom don’t cry, he’s going to be ok”.

A while later I was in the kitchen, still crying and my 15 yr old Jesse did the same thing. A hug and a kiss and reassurance that Moose was going to be home soon.

Jess is growing up fast too. Shaving even! Ugh. My kid has his own razor!!

It meant the world to me that these two teenagers would reassure me in such a way. Jesse even washed my car for me the other day... without me asking! Amazing.

I'm pretty lucky to have two teenagers who really don't give me much trouble. Yes, we fight about bedtimes, and other silly little things, but I have to say, they are two really good kids and I'm very proud to be their Mama.

The Garden

We've been harvesting lots of cukes, tomatoes, eggplant, Swiss chard, basil (by the boatload), and GARLIC! How I love garlic. We harvested it on July 22nd, it was an early harvest. It's been drying out down in the basement since then. Now it will be moved up to the garage to hang out for the winter. I have 4 different varieties. Can't wait to try them all.

Planning ahead.

We’re tightening our apron strings. We have a big bill to pay off for Moose’s expenses. We also had some generous help with said bill, for which we are forever grateful. They know who they are. We are so thankful for you all.

I’m still scrimping and saving every way I can to help ease that pain. It was the perfect excuse to get into the freezers and use up all the stuff that I haven’t over the past 6 months or so. Let me tell ya...there will be some mish-mash recipes coming. We're hoping to have the whole bill paid off next month. Wish us luck!

Looking forward.

It will be another homemade Christmas this year. Last year we made a lot of gifts. Thankfully my husband is handy with wood and nails, so we made some gorgeous little primitive tables. This year I'm trying to come up with another project. I usually start in September, so I need to get motivated fast.

I have been gathering lots of nice wooden pieces all spring and summer long, so I have a great stash to choose from.

I think homemade gifts are the best anyway, don't you?

Fresh Corn Pudding

So here it is, already mid-August. The summer is just flying by. Our garden is still booming. Right now we're harvesting lots of tomatoes. All those green ones finally are starting to ripen. We're also getting a lot of eggplant and cukes, but I think they both are nearing the end of their season. I love my little garden spaces around the yard. The raised beds in the back, the full garden on the side of the house and my herbs up on the deck (easy access for snipping!)

Fresh corn is one veggie I don't grow, but I'm lucky enough to have a little market that sells corn from a local farm. I even work with the daughter of the farm owner, so I know I'm getting locally grown and delicious stuff. Perfect for this dish.

My sweet friend June posted this fresh corn pudding on her beautiful and inspiring blog Four Green Acres.

I love visiting June's little corner of the world. She shares little glimpses of her idyllic life on her green acres filled with chickens, goats, gardens, a outdoor pizza oven (jealous!) and two of the most adorable little girls you have ever laid eyes on.

John loves creamed corn so I knew this recipe would be a winner for him. I added in some fresh thyme from the herb garden and a teaspoon of Mrs. Dash. Hope you don't mind June.

Crunchy sweet corn swimming in a creamy, custard-like pudding. Such a great fresh taste. The perfect summer side.

Thanks again to my friends in Maine for such a delicious recipe.




Fresh Corn Pudding
2 cups fresh corn, sheered off the cob (that was 4 ears for me)
2 cups milk, scalded
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (optional)
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash (optional)

Beat the eggs. Slowly beat in the milk and melted butter. Add the corn, onion, and seasonings. Pour into a baking dish. Set the baking dish in a pan of hot water and cook in a 325 degree oven for about an hour. The pudding should be set so that a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. (Cooking time will vary by the juiciness of the corn.)

Cocoa Metro Dark Drinking Chocolate

Last week I was contacted by a very nice man named Mike from a company called Cocoa Metro, in nearby Massachusetts. He had visited my blog and asked me if I would like to try some of his very fine drinking chocolate.

Now, I don't know if Mike read through some of my posts and realized that he was dealing with a major chocoholic when he asked me to try his fine product, but I wanted to reach out through the computer screen and shake him by the shoulders while shouting "you have made my liquid chocolate dreams come true sir", but instead I typed back "Yes kind sir I would be delighted to partake in your delicious milk". Ok I really didn't type that, but it was kinda the gist of it. I think I had a tear in my eye.

Mike sends his driver Dean to deliver the milk to my back door. Three bottles of liquid gold, er, I mean chocolate. I stashed the 2 other bottles away in garage fridge. I put one bottle in the kitchen fridge. I wasn't long before it was discovered and I heard "Mom when can we open that bottle of chocolate milk?"

Open it we did my friends.




Would you like to drink a cup of heaven? Well here it is.
THE BEST CHOCOLATE MILK ON THIS BIG BLUE MARBLE!

No Mike did not pay me to type that. It is that good.

The four of us polished off a bottle in oh...under 4 minutes flat.

I emailed Mike back and told him that we are all already addicted and he's darn lucky that there's a Whole Food close by that carries this milk. Maybe Dean could just come by, oh say, every week or so and bring me bottles upon bottles of it? Think that would fly?? Huh?? Nah, well ok, if I must go buy it, I must, and you should to.



Words from Mike:

We’re not messing around here. Only the best chocolate goes into our fresh milk. We chose Callebaut Belgian chocolate for its deep and rich cocoa flavor profile. It’s high end cocoa for high end Mmmmm. And about that fresh milk—it comes from Vermont cows. Everyone knows that Vermont cows are the happiest and most socially well-adjusted cows on earth. And they don’t ever do drugs. We just can’t let our cow friends have any loathsome hormones. They’re clean.

Do yourself a favor—don’t pour it into a cup. Drink right from the bottle. There’s a reason we put it into glass.

From the Boston Globe: Dark chocolate fans who normally shun milk chocolate can now enjoy Cocoa Metro Dark Drinking Chocolate ($5 for 32 ounces), made with Belgian Callebaut natural cocoa, and plenty of it. It tastes richer, thicker, and more intensely chocolaty than most other chocolate milks. Even made with 2 percent low-fat milk, Cocoa Metro is about half the fat and calories of ice cream: 240 calories for 1 cup. The milk comes from Vermont cows; it’s custom blended at a Massachusetts dairy and sold in handsome old-fashioned, returnable glass bottles. Drink chocolate and support local agriculture.



I love the glass bottle.

I love that I can get it close by.

I love that it's made with love.

I love this chocolate milk.

Let me leave you with these parting words....TRY IT and you will be as addicted as we are.

Thanks Mike!

Wordless Wednesday~

Frozen Pina Colada Pie

Do you remember way back when the Food Network first started? I think it was called TV Food Network back then.

I remember being thrilled that there was a channel dedicated to all things food.

Oh the recipes I'd gather and since I had a computer back in the early 90's, I didn't have to sit in front of the TV with a paper and pencil in hand feverishly trying to write down the recipe. I could go to the internet and copy and paste and shazam - I had me a recipe.

This was one of the first recipes that got from TV Food Network.

I can't remember the name of the show. I remember it was showcasing "island food" and there was a commentator with a soothing and tranquil voice, and I remember seeing this pie and thinking, I want to eat that.

This is a fantastic summer dessert. You can make it the night before...in fact, because it has to freeze for a minimum of 8hrs, you do need to make it the night before.

It's cool, fruity and creamy all at the same time. A totally refreshing dessert with a knock-out pina colada taste.




Frozen Pina Colada Pie
4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
½ cup pineapple juice
½ cup shredded coconut
3 cups whipped topping, divided
½ cup crushed pineapple, drained *see tip
1 large graham cracker crust ** (yup another tip)

Combine cream cheese, milk & pineapple juice and beat until thoroughly mixed.

Fold in coconut, crushed pineapple, & 1½ cups of the whipped topping. Pour mixture into pie shell. Freeze until firm. Top with remaining Cool Whip.

If desired garnish with toasted coconut, chocolate shavings or nuts. Return to freezer for at least 8 hours. Let stand ½ hour before serving.

* Tip: Buy the large can of crushed pineapples and you can use the juice from the can.

**Keebler now makes a larger graham cracker crust pie shell. This recipe makes enough to fill a large 9 inch pie shell, if using a smaller store bought pie shell, you will have more than enough to fill the pie shell – you can freeze remaining filling in a container for a treat later!!